in which I review books and ponder bookology (and write about other things too)

Friday, January 7, 2011

catching up with modernity

For the last few years, I have slightly disapproved of the rise of the e-book.

I had a list of reasons for this:i. Books are pretty. On a shelf, they add colour to a room.ii. Books last. There's something nice about this. You can get an author to sign your book, you can sell first editions at ridiculously huge prices further down the line, you can write your own messages in the cover, you can buy secondhand books.iii. There's something about the feeling of a book in your hand that I would be sad to lose.iv. Books aren't hard on your eyes like screens can be.v. I am secretly quite reactionary.

This week, however, I've been in the process of swapping rooms with one of my flatmates. I was at the west end of the house, now I am at the east. The process is still not over. And the process has shown me that I have a ridiculously huge bookshelf.

It's quite light for its size but, once turned on its side, it's extremely difficult to manoeuvre, and you start to notice how BIG it is. It is also full of books. They are currently cluttering up our lounge AND an empty bedroom, along with all the books I don't have room for in my bookcase so have stored in cardboard boxes. It wasn't until I had to physically carry them around with me that I realised how many books I do have.

Books read, 2014

1. Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen2. Five Little Pigs, by Agatha Christie3. I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith4. The Man in the Brown Suit, by Agatha Christie5. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, by Helen Fielding6. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, by Agatha Christie7. A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis, by Eugene Bardach8. Hyperbole and a Half, by Allie Brosh9. The Watsons & Emma Watson, by Jane Austen and Joan Aiken10. Evil Under the Sun, by Agatha Christie11. The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho12. Love in a Cold Climate, by Nancy Mitford13. The Tricksters, by Margaret Mahy14. A Three-Pipe Problem, by Julian Symons15. Cotillion, by Georgette Heyer16. A Long Way Down, by Nick Hornby17. Sight Reading, by Daphne Kalotay18. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen19. Discipleship, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer20. Cousin Kate, by Georgette Heyer21. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson22. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis23. The Guernsey Literary and Potato-Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer24. A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire: Book 1), by George R. R. Martin25. God in a Brothel, by Daniel Walker26. Yes Please, by Amy Poehler

Books read, 2015

1. Not That Kind of Girl, by Lena Dunham2. Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy3. That Hideous Strength, by C. S. Lewis